


Our Little Secret

by Miko



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cute, Friendship, Gen, Pets, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 05:43:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15834918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: Bad enough that somebody's been eating all his leftovers. Jesse figures that's the price of having a team - sometimes somebody ignores your label in the fridge. Never mind that Gabriel, Moira, and Genji all deny being the culprit.Then his gear starts going missing as well. Something very weird is going on.





	Our Little Secret

"All right, who ate the last of my nachos?" Jesse McCree pulled his head out of the fridge and glared around at the rest of his team. Gabriel was sprawled out on the couch, watching a soccer match on the holo unit. Moira sat at the table, scribbling in a journal, and Genji was slumped across from her, playing a handheld video game. None of them bothered to look up from what they were doing.

Really, there was only one likely culprit. Jesse put his hands on his hips and glared at their commander. "Reyes?"

"I’m not eating your food, McCree," Gabriel grumbled. "It wasn't me last time, it wasn't me the time before that, and it's definitely not me this time. I can get my own damn junk food, if I want it."

"It's not me," Moira put in, before Jesse could even turn his attention to her. She sniffed disdainfully. "Your plebeian notion of 'cuisine' is the last thing I'd care to consume."

Yeah, Jesse would buy that. It was why he'd settled on Gabriel as the rational one to accuse. But Gabriel had been firm all along that he wouldn't bother stealing Jesse's food, and he found it hard to believe their commander would lie about it. Steal it, yes, but not lie.

Frustrated, he turned to the only remaining person who had access to their team's private lounge. It was a long shot, but Jesse was out of other options. 

Weirdly, Genji's thumbs had stopped moving, though the game music continued to play and his eyes were focused firmly on the screen. It was hard for somebody with a robot body to tense up, and reading the expression of a guy who covered most of his face was difficult at the best of times. But he sure _looked_ like he'd gone rigid with guilt and was refusing to meet Jesse's gaze. 

Their newest teammate was the one person Jesse hadn’t thought to consider. He'd never seen the man take his mask off to eat, but that didn't mean he couldn't. Come to think of it, the missing food had never happened before the ninja joined them. "Genji?"

Finally the ninja looked up, and the scorn in his eyes was acidic enough to burn. "I have no _stomach_ , McCree. So unless you're accusing me of taking it just to throw it out, I am not a suspect."

Jesse winced and ran a hand through his hair, trying to cover his embarrassment. He wished he had his hat at that moment, so he could tug it down to shadow his burning cheeks, but he didn't wear it when they were just hanging around. Way to shove his foot in his mouth.

"Awkwaaaard," Gabriel drawled. "Good going, Jesse. Need some lemon to add to the salt you're rubbing in?"

"Nope, pretty sure I'm doin' a great job all on my own," Jesse sighed. "Sorry, Genji. I didn't know it was _that_ bad."

"If you're ever questioning whether or not something in me was damaged, the answer is always 'yes'," Genji said, justifiably bitter. Then he shrugged, and returned his attention to his game. "You are forgiven."

So much for that. Jesse turned back to Gabriel. "And you wonder why I keep accusing you?"

"Maybe we've got a really big ant problem," Gabriel suggested, grinning. There was a loud, urgent beep, and he pulled out his comm unit to check the screen. "Fucking _finally_. We got clearance from Jack for that recon mission. Moira, Jesse, you're up. Genji, you're still on the injured list from last week’s clusterfuck, so you get to hold down the fort."

"I am healed," Genji complained. "I can handle it."

"Until I hear from Mercy that you're fully cleared, you stay on light duties. Sorry, kid." Gabriel shook his head and pushed up from the couch. "Time to get a move on, boys and girls. Hop to it."

Jesse ducked back into his bedroom, reaching around the door for the hook where his hat hung. He didn't bother to look, the motion so automatic that he knew to the inch exactly where it would be.

Except his fingers met nothing but empty air. "What the hell?" Closing the door so he could see the back of it, Jesse stared at the empty hook. Baffled, he checked the ground beneath the door, and then all around his room. No hat.

It wasn't on his bed, or the narrow desk he used to write up his reports when forced to do so. Getting down on his hands and knees, he checked beneath the bunk. There were some truly epic dust bunnies, but still no hat.

"All right, this ain't funny no more," he declared, storming back out of his room. "Food's one thing. My hat's another. Where is it?"

This time all three of them did turn to look at him, with varying degrees of disbelief and amusement. "Seriously?" Gabriel said, doing a bad job of hiding a smirk. "You lost your hat? You baby that thing damn near as much as Genji does his sword."

"At least I have a reason for not wanting anyone to touch my sword," Genji agreed, and while his smirk wasn't visible like Gabriel's, it was perfectly audible in his tone. "What's your excuse?"

"My excuse is I don't like nobody messin' with it," Jesse snapped. "Now give it back."

"Nobody stole your hat, Jesse." Gabriel shook his head. "I'm starting to think you're developing some kind of memory problems, forgetting that you’ve already eaten things, or where you’ve put your stuff."

"I made those nachos last night, ate half, and put the rest in the fridge," Jesse exclaimed. "When the hell would I have eaten them since then? And I _never_ misplace my hat."

"Well, you can search for it when we get back," Gabriel said, jerking his head at the door. "Let's go, cowboy."

"What? No, I can't go without my hat," Jesse protested.

"Why?" Moira asked, her faint brogue thickening as it always did when she was making fun of someone. "Do _you_ believe there is a mystical spirit bound inside that is responsible for your admittedly excellent aim, as Genji does with his sword?"

"No, I just... it don't feel right." And yet, he couldn't justify holding up an urgent mission because he was missing a non-essential piece of his uniform. Sighing, Jesse gave in with bad grace. "All right, all right. I'm comin'. But this ain't over."

Genji set the video game down and stood up. "I will look around for it while you're out," he offered, to Jesse's shock. "If you left it elsewhere in the base, I'll see if I can track it down."

"Why, thank you kindly, Genji." Jesse smiled at him, genuinely touched. Genji rarely made any positive overtures to the rest of them, in fact he regularly rebuffed Jesse's attempts to strike up a friendship. "I appreciate that."

Nodding, Genji waved them off. "Good luck on the mission. I will see you when you return."

Gabriel, Moira, and Jesse trooped out of the lounge, heading for the dropship hangar. As they walked up the onramp of the ship, Moira glanced at Jesse and arched an eyebrow. "Going without your hat is one thing, but are you actually planning to go without your weapon, McCree?"

"What? No, it's right..." Jesse's hand closed on nothing but air at his hip. He looked down, and swore at the sight of his empty holster. "Son of a bitch! I had it first thing this morning. I _know_ I did, because I did some shootin' at the range before lunch. There's no reason I'd have taken it out and put it down somewhere!"

"Clearly you did." Gabriel wasn't amused anymore. "We don't have time for this. The approval for the mission took so damn long to come in, we've got a short window of opportunity or it'll have to wait for tomorrow. Moira and I will manage without you."

"Commander, I swear I didn't..." Jesse said. Gabriel cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"Go find your gun, and your hat, and this time try to keep track of them." Turning his back, Gabriel trotted the rest of the way into the ship, and Moira followed with one last amused smirk aimed at Jesse.

Left standing on the launch deck, Jesse felt like a complete ass. He _hated_ letting Gabriel down. The man had taken such a huge chance on Jesse, and even years later, it felt like he hadn't begun to pay his commander back for that opportunity. Now here he was forgetting his weapon like a damn rookie, making himself look bad - and his team by association. If anything happened and Gabriel or Moira got hurt because Jesse wasn't there to back them up, he was going to feel even worse.

Dejected, Jesse trudged back to their quarters. Hoping Genji would be distracted by his game, Jesse slunk inside without announcing himself. Maybe he could sneak into his room without the ninja seeing him. He really didn't want to have to explain why he was back - though it would come out soon enough, because he was in for the ribbing of his life when the others returned.

To his surprise, he heard Genji's voice coming from the direction of the ninja's bedroom. The door was ajar, allowing sound to come through. "...have to stop messing with McCree's things, Ryuu-tan! You're going to get me in trouble."

Jesse's eyes narrowed. He had no earthly idea who Genji was talking to, but it seemed clear his cyborg teammate _did_ have something to do with Jesse's disappearing food. And now possibly his disappearing equipment, as well.

Softening his steps further, he crept up to stand beside the door, listening hard. There was no voice in answer to Genji's words; maybe he was on the phone?

"It's not funny," Genji said, his tone sharply scolding. He paused, then huffed softly and added with reluctant amusement, "Okay, yes, his expression _is_ pretty funny. That's not the point. You know better."

Another pause, and there was a weird scratching, shuffling sound. Kind of like... a cat? Jesse blinked, astonished. Did Genji have some kind of secret pet in there? They weren't permitted animals in their quarters. Had he been hiding something so it wouldn't be taken away from him, and it was getting out and causing trouble?

"No!" Genji was starting to sound frustrated. "I mean it. The food is one thing. The hat is different. You can't... wait, is that his _gun_?"

There was a chittering noise like nothing Jesse had ever heard before. _Definitely_ not a cat. It sounded kind of like he imagined a squirrel on crack might, if a squirrel could laugh.

"Damn it, Ryuu-tan!" Genji groaned. Jesse dared to nudge the door open further, and saw the ninja sitting on the edge of his bunk, leaning over with his head in his hands. "Now he's out there on a mission with no weapon! What were you thinking?"

Again the chittering noise, and something _glowing and green_ eeled its way up Genji's legs and into his lap. From there it wound around him like a ghostly oversized snake. Jesse shivered as he realized the thing was _see-through_. 

He was so discombobulated, he forgot he was supposed to be sneaking. "What the _hell_ is that?"

Genji jumped, startled. It was so rare to be able to catch him off guard and unaware of his surroundings, Jesse didn't think he'd ever seen the man so surprised before. The ninja was on his feet a moment later, whirling to face Jesse head on, three shuriken at the ready in his right hand.

And perched on his left shoulder, body twined around Genji's chest, was… something. Something impossible.

The creature was long enough to be able to wrap its scaled length around Genji's neck and again around his torso. Its snout was broad, its gaping mouth full of wicked teeth, and two thick whiskers like tentacles seemed to move of their own volition. The heavy mane around its head extended into a ridge of fur down the length of its back, and curved horns jutted proudly from its brow.

Jesse blinked, rubbed his eyes, then shook his head and looked again. Nope. Still impossible. "What... what..."

Genji sighed, and reached up with his left hand to rub the creature’s head. "You know what he is," Genji said, a hint of amusement beneath the resignation in his voice. "You just don't want to believe he's real."

"That's..." Jesse realized he was pointing, his hand wavering in the air with shock. "That's a fuckin' _dragon_ ," he finally admitted, because it was the only possible description. "It's see-through. _What the fuck_?"

"Dragon spirit," Genji corrected him. He flipped the shuriken away. "You've seen him many times before, I'm just moving too fast for you to get a good look."

"Yeah but I thought it was some kinda... energy weapon or something," Jesse said, still staring at the impossible creature perched on Genji's human shoulder. "That's... an actual..."

"Dragon, yes." Genji lifted his left hand toward Jesse, palm up. The glowing creature snaked its way down his arm - then flew through the space between them, landing squarely on Jesse's chest before he could even think to dodge.

Yelping, Jesse jumped back, but the dragon wrapped tight around his torso and went with him. It was making a strange crooning noise, rearing its head so it could get a good look at Jesse's face. When his back fetched up against the wall, Jesse froze. 

The creature was staring at him from inches away, teeth close enough to do some major damage if it chose to. Its body was shockingly heavy for something that looked like it was made of solid light, and it squeezed tight enough to make it hard to breathe. 

If this thing really was what he thought it was, then it was by far the most dangerous animal Jesse had ever encountered. "What do I do?" he whispered, strangled. "I don't wanna piss it off!" The way it hissed in response to his words was not reassuring.

Genji chuckled. Under other circumstances that would have made Jesse stare at him, never having heard laughter from his perpetually-brooding teammate before. At the moment, all of Jesse's attention was firmly on the creature latched onto his chest.

"It's okay," Genji assured him. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, apparently unconcerned for Jesse's imminent demise. "He likes you. He's just annoyed you keep calling him 'it'."

"This is him liking me?" Jesse was terrified to breathe too deeply, let alone move.

"He thinks you make funny faces when you find your food missing," Genji sighed. "And he enjoys your scent, which is why he apparently stole your hat to curl up in for a nap. The gun, I have no explanation for, and I'm sorry. Go ahead and hold him like you would any other animal. He won't bite."

Jesse wasn't so sure of that, but if it squeezed him any harder, he was going to black out from lack of air. Gingerly he moved his arms to cradle beneath the creature. Once he was supporting it, the dragon released a great deal of the pressure it had on Jesse’s chest. It crooned again, and damn if it didn't snuggle right up to him, happy as any purring cat.

Relaxing slightly now that he seemed to be out of immediate danger, Jesse looked from the dragon, to Genji, and back. "So it - _he_ ," he corrected himself when the dragon hissed again, "has been living in your bedroom all this time? I thought he looked a lot bigger than this in battle."

"He lives inside me, and he can be whatever size he wants to be." Genji said the words in a matter-of-fact tone that suggested the explanation should sound perfectly logical. Then again - mystical dragon spirit. Maybe Jesse shouldn’t be attempting to apply logic to the situation. 

Genji was still talking. "He gets bored, and lonely, so when you guys aren't here I let him out to play. Except apparently, he's also been sneaking out at night sometimes, and getting into your food."

He glared at the dragon in Jesse's arms, who made a noise amazingly like blowing a raspberry in response. Jesse still wasn't sure he believed this was actually happening, but he'd decided to go ahead and at least act like it was real. "Can you talk to him?"

"Obviously. We're both talking to him right now," Genji replied, sardonic. "If you mean can I understand him, well, he can’t use human words. But after so many years together, I'm pretty good at interpreting his noises and expressions. He's intelligent. Ish." That earned him another rude noise. “Enough to understand us, anyway.”

"Okay. Okay." Maybe if he repeated the word enough, it would start to actually feel okay. Jesse wasn't sure his legs were going to hold him much longer, so he walked carefully forward until he could sink down on the edge of Genji's bed. "What's his name?"

"Ryuu." Genji's brows drew together when the dragon hissed, at him this time instead of Jesse. The ninja settled back down on the bed as well, turned so he was facing Jesse, with one leg tucked up beneath him. "Oh, come on. Really?"

"What?" Greatly daring, Jesse lifted a hand and stroked down the dragon's back, marvelling at how soft the fur ridge felt against the sleek scales. 

Heaving a great sigh, Genji appeared to give in. "Fine. His full name's Ryuu-tan." He said the name like it was shameful somehow, or at least greatly embarrassing. 

When Jesse raised an eyebrow at him, Genji grumbled, "If he'd waited to manifest until my Binding Ceremony like he was _supposed to_..." he glared at the dragon, "then he'd have a better name. But apparently, he was impatient because Hanzo's got to come out and play, and he didn't want to wait years until he could, too."

"Why do I get the feeling he takes some of his personality traits from you?" Jesse teased, grinning. "You ain't exactly known for your patience, either. And you _are_ known for breaking rules." Ryuu-tan made his cracked-out-squirrel sound, which did indeed seem to be laughter. "What's the name mean?"

"Ryuu means dragon. Ryuu-tan doesn't have a direct translation, but it's..." Genji paused, struggling for words. "Cutsey. Baby-ish. Kind of like 'Draggiekins'."

"Draggiekins?" Jesse choked on a snort, trying desperately not to laugh in case the creature took offense that he thought its name was funny. Thankfully Ryuu-tan cackled again as well, so Jesse figured that meant it was okay to let out the whoop. " _Draggiekins_? Seriously? One of the most badass creatures on the face of the planet, and you give him a baby-talk name?"

"I was seven!" Genji protested. His blush was so deep that it was visible above the mask, which was another first. “And he thinks it’s hilarious how embarrassed I get when I have to tell someone his name, so he always insists on the whole thing. He’s a brat.”

Stroking the dragon again, Jesse grinned when it squeezed briefly tighter, like the dragon equivalent of a hug. "So, did your whole clan know about him and he's used to having free run of the castle?" Genji nodded. "Well, no wonder he's bored and lonely, then. Why not tell us he's real and let him out here? I mean, we _know_ about him already, we just... didn't understand."

The blush faded, and so did any amusement. Genji looked pensive. “Angela has seen him, because Ryuu-tan kept me alive long enough for her to save me. She seems to have convinced herself that he’s some kind of weird hard-light biotech fusion, which is probably just as well. I don't want Overwatch to try to study him. He's _not_ a lab rat."

"Can't blame you there," Jesse agreed, sobering as well. He could all too easily imagine the muckety-mucks deciding that animal cruelty laws didn't apply to a magical spirit dragon, and doing anything they could to study and understand it. Not Gabriel and Morrison, but they had bosses too. Hell, he wouldn't want Moira finding out about the little critter, either.

“I did try to insist he was real with Morrison and Reyes when I first joined,” Genji added. “He refused to come out, probably because he understood the danger better than I did at that point. I'm pretty sure they think I'm delusional and don't care as long as I can do the job. The result is that everyone knows I claim to have a spirit that grants power to my sword, but nobody believes I’m serious.”

The more Jesse petted the dragon, the happier it seemed to get, its croon developing harmonics that shivered right through Jesse's bones. It was a pleasant sensation, but very weird. "He's welcome to come out and play any time I'm around. No stealing food, though," he shook his finger at the dragon. "You can _have_ some, but don't eat the last of anything unless I say you can, got it? And absolutely no stealing my gear!"

Hell if the creature didn't manage to look apologetic - and also distinctly smug. Genji was right about his expressions being as loud as words. Jesse narrowed his eyes at Ryuu-tan. “Did you take my hat and gun because you wanted me to find out about you?”

“That sounds about right. I guess he decided you were safe and I was being too paranoid.” Genji had a look in his eyes that Jesse had never seen before - he thought the ninja might actually be smiling. "Careful, or you'll spoil him. Then I'll have to live with a spoiled dragon. Oh no wait... I already do."

Grinning back at him, Jesse leaned against the wall, shifting so Ryuu-tan could curl up more comfortably on his chest. "It'll be our little secret. I promise I won't tell nobody. Hell, I'm sure he's not the only pet being hidden in someone's quarters - just the weirdest one by far."

Sprawling against his pillows, Genji picked up his video game again. "Well, I certainly don't mind if you keep him occupied with petting for a while. He's an attention hound, and he won't let you do anything else while he's on you."

"I can live with that." Jesse scritched the creature under the jaw, every bit as happy as the dragon. Not only was he getting the benefit of a pet... it seemed like he might finally be making a friend out of Genji.

Yeah. He could definitely live with that.


End file.
